The Secret World Ch. 01

She was was a graduate and scholar in Mythology and Occult studies at Cloverton University, Essex, United Kingdom. Twenty six years old, Penelope Godfrey, or "Penny" for short. She had spent most of her life in the safe comforts of the university studying and researching with hardly any time for a social life.

The occult studies was her life. A true prodigy in her field, the university hired her immediately after her graduation. She had an undeniable passion to learn the sacred rituals of the past and the many lore passed on from generation to generation. What little personal life she did have was spent at home watching Japanese animation, playing online roleplaying based video games, and reading literature.

A recent excavation in Eastern Europe has unearthed a buried castle. Many of the recovered relics had been brought back to Cloverton University for study. Since the arrival of the new relics, Penny hardly left her studio except for use of the restroom, shower, and sleep if she chose to sleep outside of her office studio. Many of her colleagues have gone and returned throughout the day only to find Penny still glued to the artifacts.

"Penny, you need to leave work at some point," one colleague advised her. "I mean really, you can't stay buried here forever."

Penny replied with a distracted tone, "Well, these old relics won't study themselves."

"They've been here a long time, trust me when I say they'll still be here," her colleagues insisted. "It's the weekend, our life and the future are beyond these halls."

Yet, she didn't respond. All they saw was the back of her wavey brown hair as she was so immersed in her research. Soon she was left alone in the studio. Her emerald green eyes piercing through her eyeglasses then onto to her magnifying glass, her gentle brush on the surface of the relics, such work is the closest sense of intimacy she's ever felt. This truly was the only life she'd ever known not once suspecting that soon her world was going to be turned upside down.

Penny had been working hard examining the many relics. The one she focused on the most was a strange box of unusual origins. The markings surrounding it had various hieroglyphics. She had yet to fully analyze the meaning of the markings, but she felt compelled to open the box.

"Okay, Penny, whatever's inside could be the find of the century," she thought. Her fingers reached out to touch the lid and then stopped for a moment. "But what if the markings are a warning? Then again do these stories of curses ever come true? Bugger! Here goes nothing."

She lifted the lid, but before she could even see what was inside she suddenly felt dizzy. Her vision became a daze as her eyes rolled back causing her to collapse on her desk passing out.

Her mind entered a state of dreams with fragmented visions of a strange ritual. She was in the center of a masked crowd watching her in a strange gown, she had on ancient silk revealing much of her body. She couldn't understand the words being spoken, but a strange chant rang in her head as the crowd repeated over and over. Until a brief flash of a silhouetted man with horns appeared before her.

She then woke up suddenly looking around her surroundings in a confused state while fixing her eyeglasses. As her eyes began to focus in, she saw two men standing on the other side of her desk staring at her. They both seemed strange to her, the one standing to her left was in a dark suit, with a vest underneath his coat and a sharply tied dark necktie. He held a fedora hat in his hand and a suitcase on the other. He had dark black hair combed in a fauxhawk style, golden brown eyes with a stubble on his face.

The other looked much younger like in his early twenties and taller with a slender frame. He was dressed rather differently in expensive designer clothing. Dark pants with pin stripes and elegant dress shoes. He also had on a a black peacoat, his necktie was worn loosley and his shirt unbutton on the the top. His skin was pale with red lips and curly blonde hair tied in a loose ponytail. Oddly enough he also had sunglasses on, even though he was indoors and in the dead of the night.

"Greetings, Ms. Godfrey," the man on the left greeted her with a stern American accent. "My name is Mister O, and my partner and I would like to ask you a few questions."

"Hello, darlin'," the other man greeted with a smile,

"ya can call me Beau."

Penny looked up at the both of them disoriented. First at Mister O and then at Beau. She was confused at the situation and as reality had barely started to set in, she took off her eyeglasses to rub her eyes only to put them back on and then began to laugh hysterically.

"This must be some kind of joke," she commented, "did Randolf put you two up to this?"

Both Mister O and Beau looked at each other not expecting her reaction.

"Ms. Godfrey, I assure you this is not a joke," Mister O said. "We are here in regards to the recent excavation that your university funded, and from what we understand you're the subject matter expert."

Penny didn't look the least bit believing, instead she continued to nod with a skeptical smile. "Wait.. Who are you guys with? Well, certainly not MI6 with those accents," She continued to laugh uncontrollably. "I know, you two are American FBI!"

Beau chuckled a bit and then tried to explain. "Well, hold on a minute there, Cher."

"You can't expect me to believe any of this!" Penny interrupted as she snorted from laughing too hard.

"Now enough of the gumbo ya-ya and let me finish," Beau continued with a hint of irritation in his tone. "Myself and mah partnah here, we're fixin' to ask ya about yer dig."

She looked at him a bit confused and then asked, "My dig? Who talks like that and who are you people?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we are not at liberty to disclose that kind of information," Mister O replied. "Do know we are here for your best interest as well as the best interest of your project here."

"Bollocks!!" she responded. Penny seemed to have maintained her composure and began shaking her head as she took a deep breath in. "I've really had a great laugh, tell whomever put you both up to this thank you for the great laugh, truly I needed it. But, I'm all knackered for the night and I have lots to do tomorrow so please kindly see yourself out and do have a good rest of the night."

Mister O walked around the table observing the box on the table and then looked at pictures of the excavation team's photos of the castle interior.

"These relics were not originally part of the castle you guys found," he began to explain to her with a stern grin.

Penny rolled her eyes at him, feeling a bit insulted that random man in a suit from nowhere would attempt to challenge her at her own expertise.

"These symbols," pointing at the pictures from the excavation site, "the interior decor would mean this Castle belonged to the Knights Templar." He then approached the box, "The characters in those markings are performing something called Hieros Gamos. The Templars weren't very fond of such sexual rituals, as a matter in fact I wouldn't be surprised if they buried the whole castle just because of that box."

"Okay, thank you for the lecture, professor," she said sarcastically, "but please leave."

"Here's my card if you change your mind " Mister O responded as he left his business card on her desk. "But you should know, some secrets were buried for a reason and those secrets should remain buried for good reason, Ms. Godfrey."

She watched them like a hawk as they both turned around and walked out of her office studio. She took another deep breath shaking her head again before finally picking up the card. It was solid blue with white print, on one side it had a phone number and on the back side a strange quote:

"Reality is only an illusion

-The Enlightened"

She shook her head and tossed the card back on the table. She walked towards her couch in the studio only to drop down and finally fall asleep. She slept calmy for the rest of the night and was wide awake as the sunlight began to pierce through the windows. Her weekend was rather lonesome researching and studying the relics. She looked at the box on the table as well as the many tablets and began to wonder if there was any truth to what Mister O had said.

As the weekend came to an end, Penny as usual was already at work Monday morning as her colleagues began to filter in the studio one by one.

"Good morning, Penny!" one man greeted.

"Find anything interesting, Penny?"

Another asked.

All others arriving greeting Penny just the same as those before them. She responded to each one properly until her whole team had finally arrived.

"Okay, now which one of you is in on the joke?" She began her interrogation while holding up the business card Mister O gave her.

The rest of her team looked confused at her question. "What joke?" they asked.

"Those two blokes in the black suits telling me they're here to ask questions about our project. Was it you, Randolf?" Penny replied.

The team looked at each other confused and mumbled among each other when Randolf responded, "Penny, you mean to tell me you were visited by the Men in Black?"

Penny responded, "Oh, they were hardly matching any folklore about Men in Black. One of them called himself Mister O and looked like Dean from that American tele show Supernatural, just with darker hair and the other one must be some sort male model with a ravishing accent."

Snickering and giggling could be heard among the team. One made a joking remark out loud, "Dean from Supernatural? Well, now we know Penny loves one thing outside of work, that's American tele."

"Oh sod off, you wanker. Now get back to work all of you!" She said in a jokingly yet partly irritated tone while stuffing the card in her pocket.

The day progressed as normal as the team worked together until it became dark outside as night aproached. One team member continued analyzing the shape and structer of the box. Each time she tried to open the lid it just remained shut. Penny had caught that, yet the night before it open for her as if it only allowed her access.

Each time a team member attempted to open the box, flashes of Penny's dream from the night she opened the box would pop in her mind. The sudden flashes became more intense each time an attempt was made to to open it. It was becoming more difficult for her to focus. Eventually the strange image of the horned man flashed as though he were stand right in front of her at the offiice studio causing her to drop her coffee.

"Are you alright, Penny?" one person asked.

"Yes, I just need a break from everything. I'll be back. I, uh, I just need some more coffee," she responded and then rushed off into the hallway. Penny had kept walking until she found one of the break rooms and remained there for hours trying to settle her nerves. "C'mon, Penny, pull yourself together. These stories can't be real," she assured herself.

Penny sat there drinking one cup of coffee after another. She enjoyed looking out the window, it brought her a sense of comfort to see the wind blowing. It was the Autumn season, the leaves were orange and brown, the air had become nice and cool. The holiday season was coming, thoughts of seeing her father and distant relatives did bring a smile to her face.

Her nostalgia was interrupted when the sound of a helicopter flying by shook the whole building. It must've been flying really close for it to do that she thought. Then the helicopter flew past the building again as if it was circling around them. Finally the helicopter sounded as though it was just hovering above the building. Penny looked out the window and observed several black SUV's speeding towards the building and then splitting up. It looked as though they were setting up vantage points to form a perimeter.

People in dark uniforms with guns began to to dismount the vehicles and sure enough, they were forming a perimeter. A van approached the building, more people spilled out of the van and began charging into the building. The lights had gone out in the building. Perhaps more gunmen were dropped off on the roof by the helicopter to sabotage the building power. The only lights left on were battery operated emergency lights.

In a panic Penny ran down the hallway only to be intercepted by one team of the invading gunmen. She turned around and ran back the other direction only to be hit from behind. A jolt of electricity surged through her back causing her body to lock up and fall face forward, she had been tazed by a non-lethal weapon.

She fell hard as fear began to rise. The only sounds her mind was able to register where the hard stomping of boots from the invaders. Her lips began to quiver and tears streaking down her face as they approached.

"Please," She begged as tears began streaking down her face.

The armed gunmen ignored her pleas and began binding her wrists together with zip ties while another covered her head with a black bag. Now blinded and bound, she heard gun fire from the men that were abducting her. The gunfire seemed like it would never end, Penny had never been so terrified in her life.

Then there was silence and she felt someone dragging her. In a panic she tried to resist, but the person's grip was too strong. No matter how hard she tried to kick his hold on her he would not let up. Then they stopped moving, she heard the sound of velcro straps being undone.

Everything was suddenly quiet again. The bag over her head was yanked off. She looked up and saw a familiar face, that pale face with curley blonde hair and sun glasses.

"We meet again, darlin'," Beau greeted. "We heard a damsel was in distress, so I hope ya don't mind a couple of knights in shinin' armor fixin' to come save the day."

Instead of gratitude, the terrified Penny Godfrey screamed in horror and continued to struggle. "Let me go! Let me go!!" she screamed and pleaded.

"Hold on a hot minute there, darlin'," Beau attempted to talk to her which was only met by even more resistance by the poor young girl. "I reckon we just saved yer pretty lil' hide so don't ya go makin' a rockus. Ya with with the good guys now, ya hear."

"Hey, old man! How about you free her hands so she can put on the vest," Mister O interrupted with a sense of urgency.

The comment of "old man" threw her off as Mister O appeared at least ten years senior to Beau. It was too much for her to process, but as Beau released her hands, she picked up the bulletproof vest Mister O slid towards her. It was a few sizes too big for her, but if it meant some for of protection against bullets she wasn't going to complain.

She looked at the both of them and noticed how different they were. Mister O armed with a pistol was in jeans and a t-shirt while putting on a tactical vest as well as procuring submachine gun from one of the neutralized gunmen. She even noticed him scavenging ammunition from each of the other neutralized gunmen he could reach.

Then she looked at Beau which rather than dress for comfort and practical application to combat, he was still in designer clothing. Dark slacks and a black dress shirt.

"Wait, you don't have a gun?" she asked frantically to Beau.

He responded with a smile, "Don't ya worry about a thing, darlin' I got a knife."

She didn't look to relieved by his response. Mister O took lead, the other two followed behind him. While Mister O moved tactically from one position to another, Beau seemed relaxed walked casually with his hands in his pockets.

"Eye in the sky, this O. Do you read me?" Mister O reported into a head piece. "Requesting emergency EVAC. Alpha and Bravo LZ are a no go. ETA to Charlie point LZ fifteen minutes, how copy?"

"Well, O. Ya always said ya missed being part of the strike teams," Beau said jokingly to Mister O.

In response, Mister O scoffed at him, "This is hardly a strike team, old man. No offense. It's just you and me with precious cargo against OpFor (Opposing Forces) elements."

"Well, junior, this is yer circus I reckon," Beau replied. "All this military voodoo ya talkin ain't my forte. So, what's the plan, boss?"

"Well, as much as I hate the idea of splitting up, I'm going to need snoop around with the OpFor and find out who they are. As for you, protect the cargo and get her out of here, I'll regroup when I can," Mister O instructed.

"I'm not some bloody cargo!" Penny roared, "I am a person and I do have a name!!"

"Told ya she was a fiery one," Beau responded.

Mister O continued down the hallway as Beau lead Penny down the stairs. Reaching the bottom floor Beau held out his hand preventing Penny from entering the hallway.

"There's others on the other side of this door," Beau warned.

Penny replied, "How could you be so sure?"

"I can hear their hearts beating," he said with an arrogant smile.

He opened the door quickly and quickly moved in neutralizing the assailants. Penny on the other hand heard gunfire causing her to cover hear ears. When all became quiet Penny joined Beau in the hallway. She saw holes in his shirt, but no wounds on his chest. Beau simply continued smiling while holding a 1700's era French style dagger.

In front of him, one last assailant stood wielding a knife. "You and me, bloodsucker!" said the assailant.

"Well, if ya askin' me to dance, then I accept. Too bad I didn't bring my dancing shoes," Beau replied.

The two squared off in battle, both accepting each other's challenge. As they swung their weapons, each were able to dodge one another, until the assailant was able to cut Beau's arm causing it to burn. Finally no longer holding back, Beau used his power and out classed his opponent as he had him cornered against the wall.

Penny demanded in a terrified tone, "What?? Why is your arm burning?"

"Because, darlin' the knife in his hand is made out of silver and silver hurts," Beau responded as he turned his head. His sunglasses seemed to have fallen off during the scuffle revealing his red eyes to Penny as fangs were emerging from his gums. "Now do me a favor, cher and look away. Wouldn't want to ruin the image of my beautiful face to ya."

She didn't hesitate to turn her head, but what she heard made confirmed why she suspected the man calling Beau a bloodsucker.

"It's safe to look, darlin'," Beau assured.

Just then another man appeared on the other end of the hallway. Even from his distance, it was clear to see the man was much taller than Beau. It was hard to make out his full details as the emergency lights were dim. As things couldn't have gotten more weird for Penny, the strange man's hands ignited into flames as if he were controlling it.

She froze as she now could see him in full detail. It was like time had slowed down. He was in a dark uniform without tactical equipment. On each side of his hip he had these strange looking dolls that seemed to glow and his face was covered in old dirty bandages revealing parts of burnt skin and his eyes. Menacing bold eyes that darted out at her as if he no longer had eye lids.

He approached closer and closer raising both hands, the flames began to blaze even more violently. She stood there in a trance of fear. The highlights of her life flashed before her eyes, from the moment of childhood, her college years, her degree and graduation, she saw the proud look of her father and then she closed her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks. "Is this the end?" she thought.

In an instant Beau grabbed her and yanked her back into the stairwell. "Let's go, Cher! No use becoming anybody's barbeque," Beau urged.

"Wait! You're a vampire, right!? I can't believe I'm saying this!!! This is crazy...if you're a vampire, you must have powers you can beat that...sorcerer or whatever that was!" She said frantically and out of desperation.